A DOUBLE whammy of defeats have virtually put paid to Bamber Bridge's lingering UniBond title hopes.

Saturday's slender win by championship-chasing rivals Altrincham was followed on Tuesday by a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Whitby Bay.

Before Tuesday night's games, Brig had tumbled from having a one point lead at the top of the table to falling to third behind Altrincham and Gateshead.

It will take a minor miracle for Brig to win the league now that Altrincham are top - still with three games in hand.

Bamber Bridge's performance on Saturday showed grit and determination - the sort of thing new signing Mark Jones's brother, Southampton boss Dave Jones, would love to see as his side battle it out for Premiership safety.

But down in the UniBond, it was a moment of genius Brig needed - and they didn't get it.

Instead, they were dealt the cruellest blow of all in the second half when Ricky Harris sent in a blistering cross from the right, which Lee Sculpher knocked past his keeper as he tried to clear it.

Even the valiant efforts of Nigel Greenwood, Pete Smith and Dave Leaver couldn't pull Brig back into the game.

Greenwood readily admits Saturday's performance was poor, but things took a turn for the worse on Tuesday when his side were unlucky to lose to Whitby Town.

A 25-yard drive from Carl Chillingsworth sealed the game for the home side.

Brig had already failed to score from a penalty, which resulted from Andy Whittaker being toppled by keeper Patrick Kenny.

Brig now face another tough away game, this time travelling to fifth place Hyde United on Saturday.

Stand-in goalkeeper Alex Harrison is likely to be in the nets again after performing well during his recent games while substituting for Craig Dootson.

Brig did get the one thing they asked for at the weekend - a big crowd. Nearly 900 people turned up to watch the Altrincham game.

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